The federal transportation department is releasing $5 million in emergency relief funds to help road and bridge repairs in Alaska following Friday’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

The Federal Highway Commission released the funds Saturday after it said it received a request from Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and the state transportation commissioner, Marc Luiken.

The Glenn Highway received damage in several areas north of Anchorage. The Seward Highway south of Anchorage has seen several rock slides from the quake and aftershocks. An on-ramp to a major Anchorage roadway also was damaged.

The $5 million is essentially seen as a down-payment to help fund short-term repairs while assessments for long-term repairs are made.

___

12:30 p.m.

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz says the city is on the road to returning to normal a day after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck.

There were no deaths reported from the quake and minimal damage to buildings. However, the one highway leading north out of Anchorage received some major damage in spots.

At one time, power was out to nearly 50,000 residents because of the quake. But Anchorage Municipal Manager Bill Falsey said at a news conference Saturday that power has been restored to all but about a dozen residents.

The gas company is investigating about 650 reports of leaks, a number that has risen Saturday as people return to office buildings to check on damage.

Police said there was no looting in the aftermath of the quake. And fire officials warned people to be careful as high winds expected later Saturday could send unsecured debris flying.

___

9:55 a.m.

The Alaska Department of Transportation has all of its inspectors in the Anchorage area Saturday to conduct bridge inspections following the 7.0 earthquake that caused highway damage mostly north of the city.

Officials say there are 40 sites in the area with some type of damage, and eight of those are considered major.

The major damage is mostly to highways or ramps getting on or off the Glenn Highway north of Anchorage. There’s also damage at the interchange of the Glenn and Parks highways.

Rock falls exacerbated by hundreds of aftershocks are causing some problems on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage.

Officials say in a release that the aftershocks continue to contribute to settling and additional cracking.

The U.S. Geological Survey says there have been 545 aftershocks, including a 5.7 magnitude shaker that followed Friday’s big quake almost immediately.

Geophysicist Paul Caruso says 11 aftershocks have had magnitudes of 4.5 or greater. He says there should be fewer and weaker aftershocks in the coming days, but officials can’t say for sure when they will stop.

Friday’s quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Anchorage. There have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries.

President Donald Trump late Friday declared an emergency for the earthquake, which allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.